Two online charter schools could serve up to 3,000 students in North Carolina next year. They would be the first schools of their kind in the state. The state school board asked those groups some tough questions this week.

Two virtual charter schools run by for-profit companies are trying to open schools in North Carolina. These would be the first online charters in the state. A group appointed by the state board of education to help recommend rules for these types of schools is wrapping its work up. They completed their discussions this week.

Two virtual charter schools run by for-profit companies are trying to open schools in North Carolina. In the past, the state board of education has refused to consider these schools. But this year the board appointed a group to figure out how to evaluate virtual charters. The group heard from those two companies this week. They say it’s not fair to compare them to brick-and-mortar schools.

The North Carolina Court of Appeals says a group wanting to open an online charter school in the state will have to apply again. The group backed by the for-profit virtual charter operator K12 argued the state should have allowed it to open last year.

Dozens of new charter schools have opened in North Carolina since the cap on them was lifted a couple years ago. But the state still does not have an online charter. This year three groups hope to get approval to open virtual charters.

North Carolina has no online charter schools, but the state is getting ready for them. The state board of education is considering a list of policies to guide these schools. It includes paying them less per student than a regular charter and capping the student to teacher ratio.

Online charters are not your typical schools. For one, there’s often no schoolhouse. You can do all your learning from a screen at home. Science, Math, English classes are all online. There are teachers, but usually class sizes are much larger than at a regular brick-and-mortar school.